Water activities such a surfing, open water swimming, water skiing, scuba diving, snorkeling and the like, each put people in danger of drowning. Large waved and undercurrents can unexpectedly create an emergency scenario in which immediate and reliable access to air is necessary. Scuba divers supplied with large, heavy compressed air tanks can also be put in emergency situations due to defects and depletion, for example.
A timeless difficulty with safety equipment in water activities is that the size and weight of such equipment limits a person from enjoyment of the activity. For example, conventional compressed air tanks used by scuba divers are so large and heavy, and are not tightly attached to the body to be amenable for a surfer. Similarly, life jackets, although relatively lightweight, are very bulky in order to provide buoyancy.
In particular, the large size of conventional air tanks led to the design of a 90 degree mouthpiece so that the air tanks can be vertically oriented. As such, the air tanks fit comfortably against a torso out of the way during dives. The 90 degree design can require additional space-consuming components.
It would be desirable to address these and other shortcomings of water safety.